THEY say faith can move mountains. But here, Mocha can move volcanoes, and Quiboloy can switch his remote to control earthquakes. But none of these fakers can keep your place safe from the latest quakes.
The surest way to keep ourselves safe from these earthquakes is not just prayers, or knowing the drills or checking our houses and buildings for cracks. The surest way is, still, information.
Information like what is the cause of the earthquake? Does it have to do with Mt. Apo?
How true is that a "big one" is coming in Mati? Will there be more earthquakes and aftershocks coming in the next few weeks?
Are these high rise condo buildings safe? What about malls and hospitals? How strong are the two bridges in Davao City?
Where do we go in case something worse comes?
Are local government units, especially first respondents ready to help the citizens in this times of calamities?
Where do we get sources of information about the earthquakes, about power and water supply, about the stability of roads, about where to go to for shelter and to get relief goods? These are questions that we need to find answers, clear authoritative answers and not from an anonymous Facebook post.
But information gets muddled nowadays. Just look at that tsunami scare (and that Chona Mae joke) and how it triggered Dabawenyos to panic and scamper to the highway like an apocalypse movie.
Just look at how a few years ago we share "knowledgeable" things about "ISIS" threats without verifying them. But now we are scampering for knowledge about the quakes. Fake news and our propensity to believe in them (especially that we come from the region that praises our president) has muddled the crucial information to know what is happening and what must be done.
Social media can be both positive and negative. It is negative when people manipulate facts and photos that sow panic and disinformation. It becomes positive when people use this to spread facts about the state of calamities in their locality or call out government or private institutions for negligence during disasters.
Are we prepared ourselves? This self-examination may be uncomfortable to ask, especially towards government officials. But this is their responsibility, and as citizens, we are asked how critical are we.
We pride ourselves that we stay strong. This time, let's also prove we can stay smart, and safe.